My Guiding Key
by KurenoxArisaxx
Summary: Having finished her Keyblade training, Kairi returns to the Mysterious Tower to meet her other friends before the Xehanort fight. However, her's and Sora's hearts have one final thing to say to each other one last time before the two say goodbye once more.


**_Disclaimer: KH and characters belong to Nomura. I own nothing_**

**_My first attempt at a KH and Sokai fic. Ever since I finished 3, I've been replaying all the other KH games and my soul has been completely consumed by this series all over again. I tried to write a fic sorta based on what happened to Sokai in 3, but with the one thing that Nomura forgot to add in. Hopefully it's not too garbage. Depending on how this one does, I may write and release a few more KH fics. I've already got some ideas for other ships like Namiku, Rokushi, TerrAqua, and AkuSai. I'd love to know if anyone would be interested in those.  
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**_SPOILER WARNING FOR KH3! DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME OR SEEN THE ENDING_**

* * *

**_Kairi POV_**

"You and Lea have made incredible progress, young Kairi. Thanks to these reports detailing both of your training regimens and the results, I do believe you two will be of great assistance to us on the upcoming mission."

Master Yen Sid's deep voice echoed throughout the room of his office as I stood on the opposite side of his desk.

"Thank you very much, Master. I promise, we won't let you down." I swore firmly as I bowed my head, still feeling a little tense over the fact that I had been left alone with the most well respected former Keyblade master of all people.

An hour prior, every one of us who were preparing for the final fight against Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard had had our meeting to discus our plan of attack. Sora had finally got back the power of waking. Riku and Mickey had also managed to find Aqua and return her from the Realm of Darkness. Ventus was woken up and Lea and I had completed our training at last. After everyone gathered and the meeting ended, Yen Sid had then asked me to meet with him privately; to give him a full report on the training both Lea and I had done and the new abilities we had learned. It was his way of making sure we were all fully ready for what was soon to come.

"You're free to go. Be sure to rest up before tomorrow." The Master stated calmly as his usual glaring eyes rested on me.

"Y-Yes, sir!" I bowed again before turning to take my leave. I made my way over to the door and reached out for the handle. However, instead of my reaching the door, the door reached out for me. Just as I was gripping onto the doorknob, the door unexpectedly flew open- thereby smacking against my face. The force knocked my body backwards and in a matter of seconds, I was pinned behind the door and wall, hidden out of sight. As I tried to collect my thoughts on what had just happened, I heard several familiar voices cry out from the hallway.

"Sora, no! You can't just go barging into the Master's office like that!" I heard the unmistakable quacking voice of Donald screech in a panic as he and a few other figures entered the room.

"Gawrsh, Sora! Donald's right. I really don't think..." Goofy chimed in too.

The following voice I heard was one I never tired of. Like always upon hearing it, I felt my heart jump as he spoke out,

"But this is serious, you guys! I haven't been able to find Kairi at all since the meeting earlier and..."

My best friend and the boy I'd loved all my life suddenly came into view in the slight space in front of my eyes where the door was connected to the entrance. While Sora's back was facing me, his tone alone was enough for me to tell he was in a state of panic.

"Master Yen Sid, forgive me for barging in, but...!" Sora hadn't even taken notice of the slight surprised look on Yen Sid's face or the fact that he had been looking at me ever since the door had hit me. In fact, judging by his expression, I think Yen Sid may have been taken by bigger surprise than I had been.

The usually stoic wizard coughed awkwardly before looking back at Sora, "You are...looking for Kairi, correct?" Yen Sid sighed, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted when Riku and Mickey suddenly rushed into the office.

"Sora, you idiot! I told you that Kairi had an important private meeting with the Master!" Riku growled, smacking the back of our friend's head before bowing and apologizing repeatedly to Yen Sid himself.

"B-But she's not even here, Riku!" Sora ignored Riku's anger and began flailing his arms in odd gestures as his panic rose, "I looked everywhere, even here like you said she'd be! But she's just gone...vanished! Just like all the times before!" Sora's upset cries were actually rather adorable, I thought. Just knowing he was thinking of me made me feel warm inside. The one thing that never changed about Sora was that he cared more about his friends than himself. In fact, that was his greatest strength but...while his voiced feelings made me happy, I also felt a bit bad he was growing so upset over me.

I tried to get back onto my feet so I could make my presence known to Sora and the others, but just as I had gotten a foot underneath me, the door yet again came hammering against my face. Just like before, I went down like a sack of rocks.

Yen Sid's already buggy eyes widened even further as his jaw became agape.

This time it was Ventus who had shown up. Like Sora, he too appeared to be in a frenzy,

"Hey, has anyone seen Aqua? I can't find her anywhere..." Though it was a bit hard to fully catch view of Ven as I was crumbled on the floor, I think it sounded like he would cry at any moment.

"Ven, I'm right here." Aqua suddenly followed in behind the blond boy, a nervous smile on her face, "My apologizes for all this, Master."

Yen Sid groaned inwardly and attempted to make a gesture for the others to look over where I was sprawled out. But like before, he was interrupted yet again.

"Ven, Aqua! Perfect timing-have either of you seen Kairi?" Sora shouted, grabbing both of them by their arms.

The two exchanged concerned looks before shaking their heads apologetically.

"Um..." I tried to call out myself this time, getting up onto my feet once more. But as if the door knew, it came flinging at me yet again. This time, however, I was prepared and quickly caught the door with my hands before it could give my face another pounding. I honestly hoped whoever was entering now would be the last person.

"Yooo, has anyone seen the princess around?" The casual language was an immediate indicator that Lea had been the new entry. From behind the door, I could make out of his spiky red locks bouncing up and down as he approached the rest of our friends.

"You're looking for her too, Axel?" Sora grabbed him by both shoulders before turning back to Donald and Goofy, even more panicked than before, "Guys, what if she's been kidnapped again?!"

_Oh Sora, you're such a goof, I swear..._I thought, suppressing the urge to laugh. I sighed and gently pushed the door away, my person now in plain sight. However, the only one who seemed to notice me was Mickey, who's eyes (like Yen Sid's) grew to incredible size upon taking notice. The king grabbed Riku who stood beside him by the leg of his pants and tugged to get his attention.

I gave a small smile when Riku looked from Mickey and then to me. Though instead of calling out to me or smiling back like I thought he would, my silver haired friend's face became almost as pale as his hair. His mouth twitched open as if he was trying to say something but just couldn't.

Meanwhile, Sora's back still faced me as he continued to grow more upset by my "absence" with each minute. Over the time, soon everyone else (everyone but Sora) all acknowledged me in the room. Though none of them called out to me, or even mentioned my presence to Sora. Instead they all just stared at me, each one of them wearing awe-struck looks. I couldn't figure out why. Did I have something on my face?

"I mean, what if something really bad happens this time?!" Sora had tears in his eyes as he turned back to Riku and began shaking him, "Riku, please! We gotta find-"

Without even a word, Riku clasped his hand over Sora's mouth before using his other hand to turn Sora's face towards me. Riku then removed his hand, revealing Sora's mouth to be hanging open in shock.

"Kai...ri?" Sora mumbled as he stumbled up to me.

_Oh my gosh...Sora, you look like a newborn deer with the precious way your walking. _I thought, awkwardly waving back at him, "Took you long enough to notice me, Sora." I grinned before playfully flicking his nose. Doing so, though, did not give me the reaction I anticipated. The moment my fingertip hit him, Sora's face went even completely white.

"Kairi, wh-what happened?! Who did this to you?!" My emotional best friend shrieked louder than he ever had in his life as he suddenly cupped both of my cheeks with shaking hands.

"Eh? Sora, w-what's wrong? I'm fi..." I was so confused. I thought revealing myself would at least calm Sora's blood pressure down just a little bit.

"Uh, princess..." Behind us, I saw Axel gesturing at his nose as if to tell me to do the same, so I did.

Oddly enough, I felt something warm and wet streaming down from my nostrils. I gave my nose a touch and looking back at my finger, I could see red all over. Wait...was I bleeding?

I then began wiping my nose with my other hand, collecting more blood as I made sure that, yes, my nose was definitely bleeding. Quite badly too. I don't think I'd ever had this bad of a nosebleed before in my life. Had I got this from the door?

Sora began freaking out in a completely new way now- running over to Donald and yelling at him to cast cure. Meanwhile, Aqua and Riku came over to me to provide first aid.

Eventually things finally calmed down and Sora was told by the Master just how I'd gotten my injury and why I had gone "missing".

* * *

"I am so, so, SO sorry, Kairi!" Sora wrapped his arms tightly around me after our group had dispersed from Yen Sid's office to the outside of the mysterious tower. Now, it was just me and the poor emotional excuse of a boy that literally hadn't stopped apologizing and crying for over the last ten minutes.

"Don't worry so much, Sora. A little nosebleed never hurt anybody." I spoke as comforting as I could as my hand patted his trembling back like a mother comforting her child.

"Here I thought Xehanort or someone had kidnapped you again, so I just...lost it when I couldn't find you...and than, of all things to do, I ended up smacking you in the face with Master Yen Sid's door. I'm the worst..."

While Sora was wholeheartedly apologizing at the moment, a part of me couldn't help but wanna laugh when Sora put the recent situation into words like that. One thing I knew for certain: I always encountered crazy situations whenever Sora was around. And honestly, even though this time I'd gotten a bit of pain out of it, today's recent events just reminded me how much I had dearly missed Sora while I was away training.

"Sora, listen..." I began to say but when I looked over to him, I noticed he'd buried his head into his knees in a depressed motion. My heart ached a little when I saw Sora so upset and I was the cause of it.

Just as I was beginning to feel a bit down myself, I felt a hand tap my shoulder. When I looked over, it was Riku who stood there, wearing a sympathetic smile.

"You're the only one who can fix him when he's like this. Best of luck, Kairi." Was all my silver-haired friend said before disappearing out of sight.

I glanced back over to Sora and felt determination in me rise from Riku's words. I scooted a bit closer to Sora, and shot him a side grin.

"Sora, really. Don't be so hard on yourself. Believe it or not, I'm a lot tougher than I used to be." I ran my fingers through Sora's spiky locks, taking in his scent as I put my all into comforting him, "Besides, I don't think my disappearing is the only reason you're so upset, is it? Something else is bothering you, I'm sure of it."

Sora let out a pained sigh before finally raising his head and looking back at me, "I never could fool you, huh Kairi..."

"Just how long do you think I've known you, anyways? Honestly, if I couldn't read you after being friends this long, I'd consider myself to be pretty inconsiderate."

"You, inconsiderate? Never! Not in a million years!" Sora's face suddenly shot right in front of my own before his eyes fell downward- his expression darkening yet again as he prepared to reveal the reasons for his behavior, "The thing is...before this fight against Xehanort, I felt like...I had to talk to you alone, Kairi. That's what my heart's been telling me ever since I first heard you'd finished your training. I mean, I know there's Riku, and Donald, and Goofy...and others I could speak to but for some reason-" Sora reached down and took my hand in his own. His fingers wrapped tightly around my skin while he went on, "It has to be you, Kairi. Will you listen to what I have to say?"

I was taken completely aback by the uncharacteristic seriousness Sora was showing. My heart pounded wildly in my chest, almost threatening to burst out if I didn't keep it under check. I used my free hand to rest against my chest and took a quick breath. My cheeks burned and my stomach felt all fluttery as I gathered up the courage to speak.

Weird. I'd known this dork all my laugh, and never before now had I become this nervous when we spoke. But now, it was like a siren was going off in my head. And it was screaming at me to listen and not let anything slip by.

"Of course I'll listen, Sora. You can tell me anything." I smiled warmly as I flipped the hand Sora was holding over so I could interlock our fingers together.

Taking in a deep breath of his own, Sora began, "You know, when this whole journey started- back when you, Riku and I lived on the island...I never could have imagined even half of the things that have happened to us over these last few years. It's pretty unbelievable."

"Mhm. It really is." I nodded, looking up at the sky hanging over our heads, "Between me losing my heart, you becoming a keyblade wielder, and Riku battling against the darkness and overcoming it- Not to mention a bunch of other things, we've all...really come a long way, Sora."

Out of my peripheral, I noticed Sora give a nod. There was then a brief pause before he continued, his grip on my hand growing even stronger as if he were trying to keep himself from getting too emotional again,

"I've been to all sorts of worlds, seen and experienced all kinds of things, and also met so many different people. And with meeting all those different people, I've come to learn something really important. Something...I think my heart knew all along but until now, I was maybe too...afraid to say." Just like I had earlier, Sora rested his other hand firmly against his chest.

For some reason unknown to me, tears began forming in my shimmering blues as I watched Sora. I couldn't believe the sight before me. Sora was no longer the little dorky boy I had teased growing up. The expression he wore was one far different from all the goofy ones that were painted into my memory. I knew he had grown by leaps and bounds in all sorts of ways over this long road he had walked...but it wasn't until this very moment that it really hit me. Looking at him now, his face so mature and his voice so much deeper than I remembered. I glanced up and down, taking in every part of Sora I could. As I did, I noticed more and more changes that had gone completely over my head earlier. He had put on much more muscle- Not as much as Riku had but still quite impression. His hands that held mine in his were twice the size of mine now, yet it was only a few years ago that our hands were near the same size. Sora's neck, shoulders, back, just...every part of him had grown. And as he spoke, I came to realize that the thing that had grown the most was the very thing beating in his chest- the same thing that had been his guiding key throughout his journey. I was so proud of Sora. So proud that there weren't enough words to describe it.

"Kairi, for a long time now, uh..." Sora coughed awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair as he turned away with a hint of red on his face, "I..."

I patiently waited for him to collect himself. No matter what Sora said, I believed we'd always be friends, always be in each other's hearts no matter what happened.

As if to silently communicate that fact, I wrapped around his arm and leaned closer until my head was just barely touching Sora's shoulder.

The moment I made physical contact, Sora shouted out as if he'd been given a burst of energy,

"Master Yen Sid told us to let our hearts be our guiding key during all of this, and...well..." Sora bit down on his lip, almost too afraid to continue, but even so he pressed on. The next thing he said was enough to completely destroy the imaginable damn that had been helping me hold back my tears, "You've always been my guiding key, Kairi! Since the very beginning!"

"Ahh..." I placed a hand over my mouth as my cheeks suddenly became wet. Unable to look at Sora anymore, I turned away. The more he went on, the tighter I could feel my throat constrict and my eyes burn hotter.

"Every time I was lost, or unsure what to do. You helped me fight on- against the Heartless, Nobodies, Dream Eaters, and the Unversed. You've always been the light that illuminated my way when things got too dark. You even saved me when I became a heartless. If it weren't for you, Kairi, I honestly don't know where I'd be right now. So before this one last fight against Xehanort, I really need to say-"

Just as Sora was about to fully confess, I heard him stop and let out a gasp. His hands touched my back and I heard him suddenly shout, asking if I was okay. By this point, I was full on sobbing. My face was completely buried into my knees, and I was unable to bring myself to look up at him given the horrible state my face must have been in. Sora continued to do kind things like rubbing my back or asking if I needed anything, but I couldn't answer. I couldn't speak even one word. Even breathing was a difficult task at this point. It was like every part of me was screaming out- Sora's sweet words triggering something in me.

It took a few long minutes before I was able to get my emotions somewhat under control. My whole body was shaking and my chest hurt like crazy. Even so, I collected myself just enough to be able to form a coherent sentence of some sort,

"T-That's not fair, you know...Being the first one to say it, after all this time..." I wiped my tears away, hoping they would stop so Sora wouldn't have to see me so upset and pathetic. I couldn't help it though. Everything he had just said- it was a perfect description of my feelings for Sora too. Too perfect. It made me frustrated that I hadn't spoken up first, but also more happier than I had been in my entire life over how sweet the confession was. I knew I had always loved Sora, and with all my heart. But for some reason, I never thought in a million years I'd hear him say such words to me. I used to think maybe I was the only one who had these feelings, and I was okay with that. As long as the two of us could still be friends, and still be connected, I thought that was enough. But now, hearing Sora lay it all out there, I realized I was far greedier than I liked to admit. And that greed had only intensified over this journey.

I wanted...to be more than just friends with him. That was the plain and ultimate truth.

"I-I'm sorry, Kairi...I never wanted to make you upset." Sora sounded as if he too would let tears fall any moment himself. My spiky haired crush extended his hand to my cheek and became gently wiping my wet cheek as he looked at me with hurt in his eyes, "Please don't cry any more, Kairi. You know I can't handle it when you cry. So, if it helps...you can forget everything I just said."

I felt my breath catch the moment his words hit my eardrums.

Forget...everything? Seriously? How could he say that? After it took Sora so much courage to finally speak those words and he's telling me to just ignore that? There was no way I would. I refused.

Before I even knew what my body was doing, my arms reached out and grabbed hold of Sora's collar. I pulled him inward until our lips pressed into each other's- my feelings finally becoming confirmed as our hearts, at long last, joined together with this embrace.

The kiss lasted what felt like an eternity, but in realty was probably only like a couple minutes. When the two of us finally broke apart, we were panting heavily and both our faces were nearly the same shade of red as Lea's hair. I also felt a bit lightheaded, which caused me to unthinkingly grab hold of my forehead as if I were in pain.

"Are you okay, Kairi?!" Sora asked loudly, placing a hand against my cheekbone.

"I'm perfectly fine, Sora..." I smiled lovingly back at him and placed my hand over his. Our deep blue spheres stared back at each other, and as we did, I noticed something. In the corner of Sora's eyes were tears of his own. I used the tip of my finger to collect one of the droplets and showed it back to him, "Actually, I should be the one asking you that."

"Oh..." Sora sniffled and began wiping at his face, "I-I'm fine! It's just...growing up, I used to wonder if maybe I was the only one who felt something special whenever we were together. So when you kissed me, I guess my emotions just overflowed." Sora rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and flashed a side smile, "Sorry for being weird, Kairi."

"Unbelievable." I spoke without thinking, causing Sora's face to pale back to as white as a ghost's. When I saw his change in expression, I immediately scrambled to confirm my meaning, "It's like I said earlier, Sora. You said exactly how I was feeling. I mean, I also used to think my crush on you was one-sided."

The two of us continued to stare back at each for for a moment before laughter soon erupted from us. I couldn't believe how silly the two of us had been all this time. I now understood why Riku would become randomly exhausted whenever our trio hung out together.

"I always figured our hearts were connected, but this is ridiculous." Sora chuckled some more before sighing happily. His face than became serious again and his hand reached out for mine once more, "Hey Kairi, I know I'm being greedy by asking this considering I just dumped all my feelings on you but, there's one more thing I'd like for us to do before we go off to fight."

I nodded silently, eager to hear when he had in mind.

"Would you share a Paopu fruit with me back on the island? Is that...okay?"

Knowing the meaning of the fruit we'd grown up eating together on our island, my heart was filled to the brim with joy at Sora's question. I simply said yes before throwing my arms around him and hugged as tight as I could. Sora held me back before breaking away just a little so he could rest his forehead against mine.

"Thank you, Kairi..."

I opened my mouth to say something back to my love but my train of thought was soon stopped when I suddenly heard mumbling coming from the direction I had seen our other friends leave to earlier.

"Did you get that picture on the gummi phone, Goofy? You better have!"

"Gawrsh, I think so. Erm, Jiminy, how do I check?"

"Why, just hit that button and..."

Sora completely broke from our hug and proceeded over to where the voices originated from. I then decided to join him in exposing those who had apparently being watching us the entire time. Sora and I approached a wall and glanced around it, only to find Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy gathered in a small circle as they looked at a gummi phone.

Sora crossed his arms and glared down at the three as they continued among themselves. Never once did the three seem to notice us (similar to my situation in the Master's office earlier ironically).

"Oh boy, you did get it, Goofy! And a picture of their hug too!" Donald shouted happily, patting Goofy on his shoulder, "Good job! Now we finally have ammo to use on Sora when he..."

"When Sora does what, Donald?"

Sora's voice suddenly bursting from before the trio immediately caught their attention. Carefully and with fear in their eyes, the three looked towards us.

"Ack..." Donald quacked.

"Oh gawrsh..." Goofy dropped the phone and began biting on his fingertips.

"W-Well now, Sora. Just how long have you been there?" Jiminy feigned innocence and began playing with his hat while avoiding the Keyblade weilder's gaze.

"Long enough to know you guys-" Sora snatched up the gummi phone and pointed to its screen that displayed a picture of our earlier kiss, "...took pictures! Have you guys no shame?!"

Donald shook off his fear and hopped to his feet. The duck magician then began launching angry quacks back at Sora, "We have more shame than you, kissing Kairi out in public like that!"

Sora's face changed colors again as the argument went on, "O-Oh please! I bet you and Daisy have done just the same and don't you even deny it!"

"In private, I'll have you know! We've never put ourselves on display like you two just did!"

"Display?!" Sora threw his hands up in the air dramatically, "Oh, come on! It was just you three watching..." Sora, for some reason even unknown to him, looked behind us. As if on cue, more of our friends popped up, each holding a gummi phone and displaying various pictures of us from just a few minutes before.

Riku, Mickey, Lea, Aqua, and Ventus all stood there. Each one of them smiled at Sora and I, making both of us freeze on the spot.

"N-No way. Wait." Sora became panicked just as he had been back in the Master's office, "All of you were watching?!"

"And listening! It was really nice what you told Kairi, Sora!" Ventus wore the purest look as he practically jumped in front of his fellow Keyblade user, "Hey, maybe once we find Terra, you can give him some tips for Aqua-"

Just then, said Keyblade Master covered Ven's mouth and bowed apologetically to us.

"Come on, as if we were gonna miss the big moment you_ finally _put the moves on the princess! This was the chance of a lifetime, and lemme tell you-" Axel rose a brow in an evil fashion while tapping his temple, "You bet your Keyblade, I got **_THAT_ **memorized."

"NOO!" Sora screeched, throwing back his head and nearly collapsing on the spot, "Everyone, just forget what you saw...and heard! Please!"

"Sorry, Sora. No can do on that one." Riku approached us and gave a soft pat on Sora's head, "I'd been wondering when you would finally man up. You sure took your sweet time, you dork."

Sora blinked, unable to properly offer a response to our best friend's honesty, "R-Riku..."

As if to add to the pile of embarrassment being chucked at poor Sora, Mickey then decided to chime in himself, "Gosh, Sora. You really have grown up a lot! Good for you. Why if the two of you wanted to hold a wedding at Disney castle, we'd be more than happy to oblige..."

"AHHHH, STOP!" Unable to take any more of this treatment, Sora fell to his knees and hide his face as best he could.

I could only watch as I saw Donald, Goofy, and the others surround Sora and continue to launch teasing banter at him. Oddly enough, I didn't find any of what the others said even the littlest bit embarrassing. Honestly, I was glad it was all out in the open now. Although, I would have preferred that our friends hadn't taken photographic evidence of our...interactions. Still, seeing Sora's bright red face as the others laughed happily- it made me realize one thing. Sora wasn't only my light and hope. He was everyone's. Earlier that day, all of us were anxious and concerned about the upcoming fight. Yet now, here we all stood. Laughing and arguing and genuinely having the most fun ever. It was Sora that did that. He really was...amazing.

The more I watched, the more Sora's figure stood out to me among everyone else there. Soon, it seemed as if everyone else was a blur in the background, and Sora standing at the center of everything else. His every movement, his voice, just...everything about him. I really did love him. I loved Sora with every fiber of my being. That would never change, no matter what.

"Hey."

I snapped out of my trance to see Riku standing beside me with a knowing smirk on his face, "Ah! Riku, when did you..."

"I've been here the whole time actually." Riku's smirk grew a little, looking over to Sora himself, "You always did get distracted when it came to Sora. Ever since we were kids, Sora has been the center of your world. It was pretty obvious, you know."

"W-Was it? Oh gosh..." I felt my burning cheeks with both hands, now feeling the things Sora was probably suffering from.

Riku then mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't catch, "You always were the one thing I never could compete with him for..."

"Hm? Riku, what was that?"

My silver haired friend jumped a little and shook his head dismissively, "N-Nothing! Forget it."

I blinked, still a bit curious but decided to ignore it.

Just then, Sora ran up to me and without a word, grabbed my hand. Before I knew it, the two of us were running away from the others as fast as we could.

"S-Sora, where are we-" I tried to ask but my voice was drowned out by our friends who had begun to chase after us.

"Get back here, you two lovebirds!" Donald shouted, lifting up his phone and snapping a few more pictures.

"Hey Sora, we still gotta take a super special pic of just you and Kairi standing together!" Goofy began waving his own phone in the air as he hobbled after us.

"You two ain't getting away yet! I still don't have it all memorized!" Axel then shouted too.

Sora then suddenly came to a stop. I was already panting quite a bit and held my chest tiredly. I tried to open my mouth to ask where we going again, but just as I did, Sora did something unbelievable.

I heard a collection of reactions like Riku whistling or Aqua ooh'ing and Ven cheering as the unbelievable action took place. I was lifted into Sora's arms bridle style. My breath caught in my throat and I lost all ability to speak.

"S-So..." I tried to speak his name but failed.

Sora than put his lips right to my ear and whispered, "Sorry, Kairi. Please bare with me, okay?"

My teeth clenched together as I buried my entire self into his chest. I felt the two of us take off again as Sora bolted to the gummi ship. We climbed aboard, and I was gently sat in the seat next to him. Sora began tapping away at buttons. As he did, I very quietly repeated my earlier question.

"Sorry, I just couldn't take anymore." Sora spoke as he continued tapping away before finally hitting the drive button. The gummi ship began hovering off the ground and started away from the Mysterious Tower's world. Once we were in the space between worlds, Sora reached down and grabbed my hand. He then pressed a kiss to my knuckles, like the way a prince does to a princess. When Sora let go of my hand, he looked at me and gave the biggest ear-to-ear smile I'd ever seen him wear, "Hehe...I learned that on one of the worlds I went to."

"Sora..." I hiccuped, feeling another wave of tears trying to burst forth again. But this time, I held them back. Shaking them away and cuddled close to Sora as best as I could with our sitting in two separate chairs.

"I wanted to go to the island as soon as possible actually. So we could share that fruit...and..." Sora looked out at the scenery of space passing us by as the gummi ship flew on its route, "I wanted to actually make sure I said it. Kairi."

Sora turned towards me again. As he did, I could see all the memories of the two of us pass through my mind like an old movie playing. The day we first met. All the times we played together with Riku. Building the raft to leave the island. Being separated and losing my heart. Meeting Sora again when he turned into a heartless and holding him close. Giving him my charm. Sending off my message in a bottle. Being kidnapped by Axel as I looked for Sora. Seeing him yet again in the Organization's stronghold. Being with him on the island again before he left to fight once more. Every single moment, every memory I had of the boy I loved more than life itself. As I thought on them and looked into Sora's eyes, I bit my lip. Still suppressing the urge to cry.

I then silently made a promise, one I swore I'd make sure came true even no matter what.

_I'll keep you safe, Sora. I don't care what it takes._

Just as I was lost in thought, I felt him fall into me and Sora's lips clash with mine. As we kissed, I couldn't stop one lone tear from streaming down. I used my free hands to grip onto the center of his shirt and grasp the clothing as hard as I could.

_I won't be separated from you again. I refuse. Because if I ever lost you..I..._

Our kiss broke and I opened my eyes to see Sora looking back at me with his usual adorable smile he wore so often. More tears formed and my vision became incredibly blurry. Sora began stroking my cheek and then pressed another kiss to my skin.

"I love you, Kairi."

The moment those words hit my eardrums, I felt something crack in the center of my chest. In an attempt to hide it, I threw myself back into his arms where I was warmly accepted. Sora stroked the back of my head, enjoying our embrace. Meanwhile, I continued to repeat the promise over and over in my head. Sora had always saved me, always given so much to protect me. Sora was my guiding key, my heart- and I was his. No matter what Xenahort, Xemnas, Ansem- or anybody else had in store for us, I wouldn't just be the helpless little girl sitting on the sidelines anymore.

_I love you too, Sora. So much so that it's killing my heart for some reason. _

I tightened my hold on Sora even further. I didn't know why, but an unsettling sense of dread had begun slowly filling me ever since Sora had confessed. I had tried to ignore it, tried to pretend it wasn't there. But it was. It was like the darkness was whispering in my ear, telling me nothing would be okay. That we'd be torn apart again, and this time it would be forever. Still, I wouldn't let this dark feeling break me or dissuade me from this fight. All I knew were my feelings for Sora and the promise that I made and that was enough.

Even if this time, it cost me everything. I'd gladly give up everything- my body, life, heart and soul. I'd throw it all away. All so I could protect the boy that had become my reason for being.

As I let myself and all my dark thoughts melt away into Sora's embrace, I stopped my tears and swore just one more time,

_I will...protect you this time, Sora._

* * *

_**Author's Comments: Okay, so this turned out way longer than I wanted it too. And a lot of things changed from the first version I had written. Dunno if I like this better or not, but please leave a review and let me know. **_

_**I also wanna say, unlike most of the fandom seems to believe, I firmly believe Kairi did protect/save Sora in a sense at the end of the game, so my repeating that in this fic wasn't like a joke or anything stupid like that. Sadly, a lot of fans think of Kairi's promise as something to be laughed at or made fun of just because of the events that transpired and that just saddens me. I love Kairi like crazy, and it's ridiculous how many people hate at her, and so intensely at that. It's a shame. That was one reason I chose to write this in Kairi's POV (though how well it was done, I can't say). **_

_**Anyways, hope some of you liked it at least. I apologize for any misspellings, poor punctuation, etc. Please review if you have the time. It means a lot.**_


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